COLUMBUS – Police are still searching for an escaped inmate accused of two violent attacks in Columbus, and a break-in in Clay County. Authorities said 28-year old Kenneth Macon has been on the run for nearly two months after he allegedly attacked a woman at knife point, and then beat and stabbed an elderly couple with a claw hammer in their Columbus home.
Authorities said Macon then made his way to nearby Clay County where he allegedly broke into a man’s home.
Macon, a black male, is 5-foot-8 and weights 185 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Police said Macon was granted a 48-hour pass by the Mississippi Department of Corrections and he failed to return to the detention center on Jan. 31.
Macon, a Columbus native, was on probation for possession of cocaine and he was working off fines and fees at the Walnut Grove Transition Center in Leake County. Macon was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet from MDOC, which police said he cut off when he escaped.
Macon was spotted the first week of February when police said he allegedly attacked a woman on 16th Avenue in Columbus and stole her purse.
The following Monday, on Feb. 8, police said Macon may have broken into the home of an elderly couple, Jessie and Mary Gardner, and beat and stabbed them with a claw hammer. The Gardeners were transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle with serious injuries.
According to local news reports, Macon was seen again last week, when a Clay County resident on Mhoon Valley Road, walked into a room in his house and saw Macon standing there. Macon fled the scene on foot.
Clay County Chief Deputy Eddie Scott said the victim, who was not injured, picked Macon out of a lineup of police photographs.
Authorities believe Macon may still be in the area.
“It appears that he has been trying to get into abandoned houses in an attempt to find places to hide,” Scott said. “That’s something people need to be aware of.”
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